A Place For My Head
by Kristinmw
Summary: Eric fell unexpectedly in love with Isabel Sharpe during his initiation, but he has a lot to prove at Dauntless if he is going to be leader after his training is over. He begins to change into the man he thinks he needs to be, but he is no longer the man Isabel fell in love with. Will she be able to find that man again, or is he gone forever?
1. new beginnings

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading my story! I hope you enjoy it. A few notes - This story will be slightly AU. I love the world Veronica Roth set up, but have taken some liberties when I felt the story needed it. I try to keep the characters as close to canon as possible, but many of the events of Divergent and the later books, most notably the war, never happen in this story. This story is an exercise for me in building relationships so I'd love any feedback as the story progresses that would help me be a better writer! Now enough from me, please enjoy the story! _

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Running. That was all Isabel Sharpe could think about. The pounding of her feet on the pavement, the whoops and cheers echoing around her, the exhilaration surrounding the crowd as they all ran together. The Dauntless. They were her family now. She had no idea what she was running to, but she knew in her gut that it would be better than what she was leaving behind.

Isabel's long, dark hair whipped around her as she ran down the derelict roads that were once downtown Chicago, her bright brown eyes focused on the crowd ahead of her. She saw them begin to slow under the railroad tracks and Isabel grinned as she watched the Dauntless in front of her begin to scale the metal railings up to the platform. She picked up her pace to keep up with the crowd around her as she prepared to follow them up. The metal was cool to her touch, sending a slight shiver down her spine that she thought might have more to do with her excitement than the temperature as she began her climb.

She waited on the platform with everyone else, noticing with surprise an Abnegation transfer amidst the crowd. She hadn't heard of an Abnegation-Dauntless transfer in at least 10 years and studied him curiously for a moment. He had torn off his jacket, which was no where to be seen, and now stood wearing the dark grey t-shirt that blended slightly better with the black-clad Dauntless surrounding him. She expected him to look nervous, coming from Abnegation, but saw nothing but steely determination in his face.

Her thoughts were soon broken by the roaring sound of an approaching train. She turned nto look at it barreling towards them, realizing that this must be their ride to the Dauntless compound. She readied herself, expecting it to start slowing down in order to come to a stop and let them on. But the train did not begin to stop and her eyes widened as it suddenly dawned on her how they would be getting on the train.

"It doesn't stop," a voice behind her stated, "Just slows down enough for you to jump on." Isabel turned to see the source of the voice and found herself looking into the face of one of the last people she wanted to see - her fellow Erudite transfer, Eric. Once upon a time she'd had a school girl crush on him, like most girls in her class, attracted to the bad boys. Even now she had to admit that he was undeniably sexy, but his bad attitude had long ago dissolved any feelings she may have had.

"Of course you'd be here," she said, tilting her head up to look him in the face. Though she was slightly taller than the average girl at 5'8, he still towered over her. His blue-grey eyes gleamed into hers, looking at her as if he could see right through her and read her thoughts and feelings. It unnerved her.

After a moment, he nodded in response to her statement, a hint of a grin gracing his lips, but it vanished quickly as he steeled himself to jump onto the oncoming train. He began to run and Isabel quickly followed behind him as they sped up before he grabbed the handle on the side of the door, gracefully flinging himself up and into the train. Isabel reached for the same handle but the train was speeding up and she was running out of steam. She began to panic that she wouldn't make it when Eric grabbed the railing from inside the train, his arm outstretched to her.

"Grab on!" he yelled. Isabel hesitated for nearly a second too long. She did not want his help with this. She wanted to prove herself and make it on her own. By the time she realized that wasn't going to happen, it was almost too late. She forced herself to run faster, her arm outstretched for Eric's as she ignored the quickly ending platform. She was finally able to make contact and she felt him grip her, pulling her towards him. She grabbed onto the railing with her free hand and Eric pulled her into the car, just as it barreled past the platform. Isabel clung to him longer than was necessary, struggling to catch her breath. She finally stepped away, flicking her eyes away from him.

"Thanks," she muttered. He shrugged, not responding as he turned to look out the doors of the speeding train. They rode for several minutes in silence, Isabel lost in silence over the events of the day and not particularly wanting to strike up a conversation with Eric. She didn't dislike him, persay, he just wasn't the type of person she'd choose as a friend. He was, however, the only person she knew in her new life.

"Did you see there's an Abnegation transfer?" Isabel finally asked, remembering the surprise she'd felt at seeing him and wanting to share with somebody. Eric's eyes flicked down to hers in surprise but like most emotion on his face, it faded quickly and he looked away, back to the open doors of the train.

"Good. One less person I'll have to worry about as competition," he commented and Isabel rolled her eyes. Yup. Still a cocky asshole.

"Careful, it's still early. Don't want to underestimate people," she told him, causing him to look down at her again, studying her carefully. He finally gave her a single nod before turning his attention away from her and to the crowd gathering at the train doors. She followed his gaze, her eyes narrowed.

"What are they doing?" she asked. Eric didn't respond, but his eyes became alight with excitement as he moved to stand behind them.

"They're jumping," he said and Isabel's eyes widened as she shook her head.

"Of course they are," she grumbled. They hadn't even made it to the compound and already she was having to jump on and off a moving train, hundreds of feet in the air. It made her wonder what the actual initiation process would require, if she could make it to the compound alive.

Before she could process her thoughts, Eric had already thrown himself out of the car and she saw him land on the graveled rooftop of a building, along with all of the other Dauntless who were flinging themselves out of the train. She braced herself as she took several steps back from the doors before taking a running leap, closing her eyes the second her feet left the train. That probably wasn't the best idea, as her landing was incredibly rough, but she made it. She got to her feet, exhilarated from the jump, and brushed the gravel off of her clothes, feeling her grin stretching from ear to ear. She had wanted more excitement in her life; It was clear that she was definitely going to get that.

Isabel made her way to where the crowd was building on the other side of the roof, taking her place next to an Amity transfer. She turned and grinned at Isabel, looking as adrenaline rushed as Isabel felt.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" she asked, shaking her head as her eyes scanned the wild crowd around them. She was small, about half a foot shorter than Isabel, with blond hair cut short to her chin and bright blue eyes. Isabel wondered briefly how she would do during the training, but knew that size didn't always mean everything.

"I definitely didn't think I'd be jumping on and off a train today," Isabel said, smiling back at the girl who nodded eagerly.

"I'm Lana, by the way," she said.

"Isabel." Before either could say anything else, a dark-skinned man who couldn't have been more than 20, a year or two older than Isabel, stepped onto the ledge of the building, holding his arms up. It took several seconds for the crowd to quiet, but when it did it was complete silence. He smiled around at the crowd easily, as if jumping from a moving train onto the roof of a building was the most normal thing in the world.

"Welcome to Dauntless!" he shouted. Several whoops and cat calls made their way through the crowd, but it hushed quickly, "Where you either face your fears and try not to die in the process, or you leave a coward. We've got a record low of faction transfers this year, unsurprisingly."

Isabel looked around, suddenly noticing the lack of other colors besides Dauntless black in the crowd. There was her and Eric, the only two in blue, the abnegation transfer, an amity girl, and several candors in the crowd. That was all. But the Dauntless whooping and punching the air around her seemed to think that was something to be proud of so Isabel shrugged and turned her attention back to the man who she assumed was one of the leaders of Dauntless.

"The only way to get into the Dauntless compound from this rooftop is to jump off this ledge," the man stated and Isabel shook her head, as she turned towards Lana, eyebrows raised. Lana shrugged, a dubious expression on her face.

"Of course," Lana said, sarcastically matter-of-fact, "How else would we be getting off the roof?" Isabel laughed, making up her mind then that she liked Lana.

"As usual, I offer the opportunity to go first to our initiates, Dauntless-born or not," the man finished, hopping down from the ledge and waving his arm towards it, eyebrows raised expectantly.

Isabel took a subconscious step backwards, away from the ledge, glancing over at Eric whom she half-expected to march right up to the ledge and take the first jump. But he just stood there, arms crossed across his chest and eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he surveyed the crowd.

Finally, a dauntless-born moved towards the ledge, grinning behind him at his friends who clapped him on the back, cheering for him.

"Go, Zeke!" One of the girls in the crowd shouted and Isabel watched as the boy called Zeke hopped onto the ledge, almost immediately losing his balance and tumbling over the side. Isabel's hand flung to her mouth and she heard a few gasps around her, but mostly there was laughter at the lack of finesse Zeke had shown.

The man who seemed to be in charge grinned, turning back to the crowd and again gesturing to the ledge. Eric immediately moved forward, gaining a spot in line behind a few Dauntless-borns. Isabel stood there for several moments, almost frozen. Jumping off a building did not seem like a very logical thing to do.

"Let's go!" Lana said urgently and Isabel snapped out of it, realizing if they didn't move they would be last in line, and that was a place she never wanted to be. She followed Lana to the line and gazed around curiously at the crowd searching for the Abnegation transfer. Had he even made it off the train? She finally spotted him at the very back of the line, looking none-to-eager to be jumping off a ledge.

When Isabel's turn came up, she didn't think twice. She hopped up on the ledge and, without even taking a glance at what was below, jumped. The fall was indescribably amazing; she had never felt more free in her life. Erudite was always so stifling - no risks, no games, no fun. Just studying and researching and working. Finally the net, that logically she knew in her gut would be there, caught her and she laughed, rolling off of it as someone reached out to help her climb off. The first thing she noticed about the hands that gripped her were the bruised knuckles and she turned her head up to look into the face of Max, leader of Dauntless. He grinned at her as she rolled off of the net just in time for the next jumper to land.

Isabel moved out of the way to stand next to Lana and watched as one by one, more Dauntless initiates and active members threw themselves down the hole and landed in the net. Finally, the man from the rooftop flew into the net and rolled off, his dark hair messy and his eyes shining brightly at the crowd.

"My name is Amar," he announced, "I'm your initiation instructor. I grew up here, and three years ago, I passed initiation with flying colors, which means I get to be in charge of the newcomers for as long as I want. Lucky you. Dauntless borns and transfers do most physical training separately, so that the Dauntless-borns don't break the transfers in half right away-" Isabel saw Zeke and his friends pump their fists in the air, grinning around at each other. She watched them for a second before turning her complete attention back to Amar, "But we're trying something different this year. The Dauntless leaders and I want to see if knowing your fears before you begin training will better prepare you for the rest of initiation. So before we even let you into the dining hall to have dinner, we're going to do some self-discovery. Follow me."

Apprehensive murmurs scattered through the crowd but they all followed Amar down the tunnel behind him and Isabel looked around uneasily. This was by far the part she was looking forward to the least, but knew it to be part of the deal. Everyone knew Dauntless was where you went to face your fears. It was, after all, part of the reason Isabel had chosen Dauntless. She wanted to be brave, unafraid, strong. The path to becoming those things, however, was something she was now uncertain that she would survive.

The crowd followed Amar into a small, damp room with a giant window on the far wall connected to another room by a panel of glass. Isabel and Lana stood at the front of the room near the window and Isabel noticed Eric walk up beside her, his arms crossed over his chest as he stood still, watching Amar setting up the machine. His expression remained neutral but his eyes proved he was deep in thought.

"This is the fear landscape room," Amar announced, still fiddling with a few syringes in a box he had opened, "A fear landscape is a simulation in which you confront your worst fears."

'How is that possible?' Isabel thought to herself, her Erudite brain working through all the information she was taking in. She had never discussed her fears with anyone. How could they possibly know?

"How is that possible?" Eric spoke up, as if reading her mind, and Isabel turned her head sharply toward him, "You don't know our worst fears." Amar grinned at Eric, nodding.

"Eric, right?" Amar said. Eric nodded, his arms still crossed defiantly across his chest as he gazed fearlessly at Amar, "You're correct, I don't know your worst fears. But the serum I am going to inject you with will stimulate the parts of your brain that process fear, and you will come up with the simulation obstacles yourself, so to speak. In this simulation, unlike in the aptitude test simulation, you will be aware that what you are seeing is not real. Meanwhile, I will be in this room, controlling the simulation, and I get to tell the program embedded in the simulation serum to move on to the next obstacle once your heart rate reaches a particular level—once you calm down, in other words, or face your fear in a significant way. When you run out of fears, the program will terminate and you will 'wake up' in that room again with a greater awareness of your own fears."

Eric continued to gaze at Amar, his face betraying no signs of emotion as Amar picked up a syringe and motioned for him.

"Allow me to satisfy your Erudite curiosity," he said, "You get to go first."

Eric stood still for a moment, shooting a quick glance down at Isabel before slowly removing his blue jacket, folding it in half and handing it to her. She took it and watched as he slowly moved towards where Amar stood next to the machine, the syringe in his hand. He jabbed it into Eric's neck forcefully and Isabel winced, but Eric's face remained stony as Amar moved him to the next room, behind the glass.

Isabel's gaze did not leave Eric's face for several moments. She watched Eric's expression begin to change as the simulation began to take effect and expected him to begin to cry out or thrash around in his chair, being confronted by God knows what. But he didn't move. Isabel glanced at the heart rate monitor standing behind him, watching as his heart rate rose higher and higher. But still, he remained motionless.

"Is the serum working?" Lana whispered. Isabel shrugged, bemused, as a Dauntless-born boy answered behind them.

"Oh it's working alright," he, his voice in awe, "Holy shit."

The room became completely silent as every face in the crowd watched Eric closely, looking for any sign of fear. But soon the only sound to be heard was the heart rate monitor lowering as Eric began to control it. A shiver ran through his body but his breathing remained even and soon, his body began to relax. He went through that eleven more times. Twelve fears. Barely moving a muscle. A part of Isabel hoped this was just a sign that the fear landscape was nothing to be afraid of, but the logical, Erudite part of her knew that was wrong; knew that Eric was just exceptional. She begrudgingly admitted she was impressed, but that only pissed her off.

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_AN: I hope you liked this first chapter! I am hoping to be able to update once a week, but reviews are always my fuel to write more! Loved it, liked it, hated it, want to see where it's going? I want to hear from you! Be kind, but constructive criticism is always welcome! _


	2. Training Day

Isabel grabbed her tray in the dining hall for dinner, looking around for a place to sit. She was still shaken up by her experiences in the fear landscape that afternoon and all she wanted to do was collapse in her bed and sleep for days. The entire experience had been far worse than she could have imagined. Pitted over and over and over again against her worst fears... she shuddered at the memory of the spiders crawling all over her, the feeling of the fire as it burned her alive, and the feeling of helplessness at the loss of most of her senses, stuck in an impossibly black room while the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end in warning that she wasn't alone. And again and again and again. 14 fears in all. She hadn't thought it would ever end and wondered, wryly, if the fear landscape would be added to her list of fears the next time she entered the simulation.

She saw Lana waving at her, sitting at the end of a mostly empty table and Isabel directed herself towards her, glad that she didn't have to worry about where to sit on her first day after the afternoon she'd had. She sat her tray down next to Lana and looked down at the burger and fries in front of her, her stomach rumbling loudly. Something about spending your afternoon facing your worst fears head on really brings on an appetite.

"That might have been the worst experience of my life," Lana said, but her tone was surprisingly upbeat. Isabel chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"Oh, you've never experienced anything worse than every single thing you're afraid of, back to back?" Isabel asked, deciding that humor would be her coping mechanism today. Lana laughed, nodding.

"Well, when you put it like that, I guess I've had a pretty charmed life," she replied, grabbing a fry.

"I can't believe they made us do that on the first day," Isabel said.

"Yeah, and from the way Amar made it sound, this is the first year they've done that," Lana commented.

"Lucky us," Isabel said.

"This seat taken?" Isabel glanced up across the table and sighed when she saw that the voice belonged to Eric.

"No!" Lana said quickly, beaming at Eric and motioning for him to sit across from them. Isabel wanted to scowl at her new friend, but remembered that she would only know him as that guy they all watched dominate the fear simulation. Isabel wanted to explain that he probably was only able to do that out of spite, but bit her tongue.

Eric sat down across from Isabel while she tried to ignore him and focus on her burger. The quicker she ate, the quicker she could leave. She sighed when she remembered that the only other place she would go would be the dorm, which she shared with Eric. There would be no escaping him for the next 6 weeks.

"You were amazing in the fear simulation," Lana said and Isabel tried to refrain from rolling her eyes at the way Eric grinned at Lana, cockiness pouring out of him. He glanced over at Isabel, probably to see if she, too, was in awe of his performance, but Lana continued, "How did you do it?" Eric shrugged, taking a bite of his burger.

"Same thing as everybody else," he said, "I just did it better." Isabel felt herself wanting to gag, but again was able to refrain. He turned to look at her again, studying her as he had been all day. She did not like it.

"What?" she finally asked, dropping the french fries in her hand back onto her plate.

"You're not someone I would have expected to see here," he said. She scowled at him, picking the fries back up and chewing them slowly to give herself time to come up with something to say.

"What a Candor thing to say," she finally said, and he gave her a grin, shaking his head.

"That's not what I meant," he said, "I saw you in Erudite, always trying to help people. I mean, your field of study was nursing - can't get more helpful than saving lives." Isabel nodded, finding herself softening slightly towards him, until he opened his mouth again and said, "I just expected if you transferred for you to go to Amity or maybe Abnegation."

She turned her head sharply to look at him, her eyes narrowed. She was uncertain whether he meant that as an insult or not, but finally ascertained by the lightness of his eyes that he had not meant it offensively. It wasn't that she thought Amity or Abnegation were bad factions by any means - she had actually considered going to Amity for awhile. But she figured that he would think Amity and Abnegation were the softest, weakest of the factions. She still found herself offended, but decided to ignore the last comment and respond to the first.

"Well we can't all have our field of study be something like The Role of the Amygdala and Prefrontal Cortex in the Regulation of Fear, like yours was," she said, hoping the comment would jab, but he just grinned cockily and she realized all she'd done was admit she'd paid enough attention to him to recall verbatim his field of study at Erudite. She continued quickly, not giving him enough time to point out her blunder, "I still plan on going into nursing after initiation, just at Dauntless. It's a high-need field here, not many people willing to take on the position."

"Makes sense," Eric responded, glancing around the dining hall at the loud, raucous Dauntless surrounding them. Isabel followed his gaze, pausing to watch the members of her new faction. There wasn't a single Dauntless in the hall that didn't have at least one tattoo showing and most had several. Piercings were also popular, Isabel seeing anywhere from two to too many to count on the Dauntless faces around the dining hall. It was chaotic and wild and unrestrained - the exact opposite of Erudite. Isabel loved it, but he couldn't see too many of them wanting to venture into the world of health care.

"Have you thought about what you want to do at Dauntless after initiation?" Lana asked. Eric turned back to look at her, his lips pursed.

"Yes," he said. Lana paused, waiting for Eric to continue, but that seemed to be all he wanted to offer. Several moments later, Zeke the Dauntless-born sat down in the empty seats across from them, followed by another Dauntless-born girl and the abnegation transfer.

"This guy," Zeke said, pointing at Eric with a broad grin on his face, "made that fear landscape his bitch!" The dauntless-born girl laughed, shaking her head at Zeke's antics as he outstretched his hand to Eric.

"I'm Zeke," he said, "Seriously, that was some crazy shit in there." Eric nodded, his face full of a cocky pride as he studied Zeke.

"Eric," he said, "This is Isabel." Isabel smiled at Zeke, extending her hand across the table to shake his before shooting a worried glance at Eric. From her observations of Eric over the years, it was pretty clear that he didn't like anyone, but apparently he was going to make an exception for people who compliment him before even introducing themselves. He'd seemed to have made an exception towards Isabel as well, which confused her even more.

"That's Shauna," Zeke said, nodding to the girl next to him. Isabel smiled at her and she grinned back, "And that's the stiff." The abnegation transfer glanced up at them at that as Zeke leaned over the table towards Eric, hiding his mouth with his hand and whispering loudly.

"Apparently he doesn't actually have a name," he said, getting a laugh from everyone at the table. Even the abnegation grinned, shaking his head.

"So how'd you do in the fear landscape?" Eric asked, picking up a fry as he looked across the table at Zeke. Isabel knew he was only asking to feel Zeke out and see what kind of competition he'd be. Zeke shook his head, shuddering.

"Dude," he responded, and didn't elaborate. Isabel gave him an understanding smile before glancing again at the Abnegation transfer, who was staring at a burger as if he'd never seen one in his life.

''He's from Abnegation, idiot...he probably hasn't ever seen a burger in his life,' Isabel thought, shaking her head as she looked at him.

"Jeez, Stiff, you look like you're about to faint," Eric said, following Isabel's gaze. She stiffened, worried that Eric was about to show the asshole in him, but before he could say anything else Amar walked up to the table behind the Abnegation transfer, clapping him on the back.

"You all made it out alive!" he said, grinning broadly, "Congratulations. You made it through the first day of initiation, with varying degrees of success." He glanced at Eric, who raised his chin, struggling to keep the pride in his good performance from showing too much on his face.

"None of you did as well as Four over here, though," Amar continued, pointing at the Abnegation transfer. Eric's face fell, but he quickly hid the emotion on his face as he glanced at the Abnegation transfer with new eyes.

"Hey, Tori," Amar called across the dining hall to a Dauntless woman with long black hair and covered in tattoos, "You ever hear of anyone having only four fears in their fear landscape?" Tori shook her head, grinning.

"Last I heard the record was seven or eight," she called back, "Why?"

"I've got a transfer over here with only FOUR fears."

"Well that's gotta be a new record," Tori shouted back. Amar grinned, nodding.

"Well done," he said before turning to walk towards Tori's table. Zeke turned to the newly-christened Four, grinning and shaking his head.

"Dude," he said, "FOUR fears. That's insane. I had like fourteen."

"That's exactly what I had!" Isabel said, relief flooding her at the knowledge that there was someone else with as many fears as she had, "Four is incredible." Isabel turned to look at Eric, but he was staring across the table at Four, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the Abnegation transfer. Four finally raised his eyes to meet Eric's gaze and stared directly back at him without so much as a hint of a flinch.

Isabel's first night at Dauntless was tough. During initiation they had the boys and girls staying in the same room and throughout the night Isabel was kept awake by loud snores, the sounds of tossing and turning, and every so often she was sure she heard the quiet sounds of sniffling coming from somewhere in the room.

She lay back, staring at the ceiling and trying to will her body to power down for the night. Eventually, Isabel wasn't sure when, she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep...until what felt like minutes later, when she awoke with a start to Amar yelling at everyone, banging a pipe against the metal stair banister by the door to the dorm room.

"Well that's pleasant," Isabel muttered, crawling out of bed in the tank top and shorts she'd been wearing. She looked around to see the other initiates crawling out of bed and putting on the new Dauntless clothes they'd received the night before. 'Morning person' would never be used to describe Isabel, but she felt a rush of excitement as she put on the black pants and T-shirt, grateful that 'shy' also wasn't one of her attributes.

She moved towards the bathroom, catching herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth and grimacing at the tangled mess of her hair. When she was finished brushing her teeth, she grabbed her brush and fought with her naturally wavy hair for several minutes before she was satisfied that that was as good as it was going to get. She quickly secured it into a ponytail and rushed out of the bathroom to see most of the other initiates halfway out the door. Lana ran up behind her, giving her a quick smile as the two of them raced to catch up with the others.

Amar led the small group to a large room that housed several punching bags strung from the ceiling, targets along one wall, and a boxing ring in the center of the room. The initiates formed a semi-circle around Amar and Eric stood facing him directly, arms crossed across his chest. He noticed Isabel come in at the end of the group and struggled to keep his eyes on Amar and off of her; any distraction would be bad at this stage, and she had already forced his mind to stray from his focus on his upcoming training a few too many times.

"There are three stages of your training," Amar began, "You all had a taste of the second stage yesterday, but it'll be a couple of weeks before you go back into your fear landscapes." At this, Eric finally allowed his eyes to flick briefly towards Isabel and couldn't help but lift a corner of his mouth in a slight grin at the visible relief on her face. He'd never admit it, but he hated the fear landscape as much as she clearly did.

"The first stage is the physical stage. Over the next two weeks we will train you to fight, shoot, and throw," Amar said, "You are all competing not only with each other, but also with the Dauntless-born initiates. Those initiates at the top by the end of all three stages will earn the right to have your pick of jobs available to you here at Dauntless, so work hard. These next 6 weeks only affect your entire future, so no pressure."

Eric had every intention of finishing training first. He'd worked for years for this. He'd known he would be Dauntless since he was 13 and had spent the next 5 years training himself in as many combat techniques as he could find books in the extensive Erudite collection. He was ready for this. He was by far the biggest in the group. There was one Candor, Liam, that might be competition and the Four guy - 'Was that really what he was planning on going by?' - was turning out not to be the weakest link like he had thought. Isabel had been right - he couldn't afford to underestimate the others so quickly and he wouldn't make the mistake again.

"Alright, I'm going to partner you guys up and then show you some basic defensive moves. After I'm done, you and your partner will spend the rest of the morning practicing what I show you," Amar announced, pointing out pairs seemingly at random. It didn't surprise Eric at all when Amar pointed first to him and then to Isabel. Things often seemed to work out for him just the way he wanted, as if he and the Universe had struck some sort of bargain. Sometimes things took longer to pan out than he would like, but he'd come to learn that as long as he was patient and bided his time, he would get what he wanted.

He turned to Isabel and grinned, amused at the anger flashing behind her eyes. He found her obvious dislike for him strangely charming, especially since, for the most part, she still tried her best to be cordial. He decidedly added her to his list of goals for initiation. He would end up in first place and he would have Isabel. He liked a challenge.

"Since we have an uneven number, Four, you'll be with me," Amar said after everyone else had been assigned a match. Eric's grin dropped at this turn of events and he narrowed his eyes as he watched Four walk over to Amar,

"I can ask to be Four's partner if you want to work with Amar," Isabel suggested, guessing correctly at his annoyance at the turn of events.

Eric tore his eyes from Amar and Four to look down at Isabel, wondering curiously how she could spend less than 5 minutes getting ready and still manage to look so damn good. Her dark hair was worn in a messy ponytail that made her look effortlessly beautiful, and her bright brown eyes shined in amusement. Even the annoyance behind them added to her appeal. Her T-shirt pulled tight against her body in all the right places and he took a moment to appreciate her. No, it was definitely better that she not work with the stiff, even if that meant that Amar did.

"The first move we're going to work on is basic defensive blocking," Amar said, using Four to demonstrate the move. He went through several more demonstrations before allowing the partners to move about the room to practice with each other.

Having years of experience, Eric was expectedly better than Isabel, but she caught on quick enough and soon Eric became bored with the same moves over and over. He had already known them well enough and Isabel had just about mastered them.

"Are we going to be practicing the same things all morning?" Eric asked, pausing mid fight and throwing his arm up just in time to block Isabel's left upper cut, which she had thrown in order to take advantage of his loss of focus.

"Damn," she muttered, frowning at her missed hit, before turning her gaze to where Amar was working with Four.

"You want to try something else?" Eric asked, turning back to Isabel who shrugged, but he could see the eagerness in her eyes that she was trying to hide.

"Raise your fists like this," Eric said, demonstrating. Isabel did as he asked and he took a step towards her, gripping her wrist and moving it in front of her face. Her skin felt smooth to his touch and his eyes turned towards hers, which were gazing directly at him. He held her gaze for several moments longer before she cut her eyes away and he let go of her, stepping back.

They worked on the new move, incorporating the others Amar had taught them, for the next hour until Eric was sure Isabel had it down. She was a quick study and determined like he was, and he was beginning to see the advantage of having someone like her around.

"Where did you learn to fight?" Isabel asked him as they finished another set, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. Eric shrugged, stepping back into position.

"I'm just naturally gifted," he replied, the corner of his lips tipping up as she raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You know as well as I do you can learn anything you want when you're in Erudite," he finally said, "This is what I wanted to learn. I always knew I'd end up here, figured it'd come in handy." Isabel nodded, cocking her head as she looked up at him thoughtfully.

"Show me something else," she said, "If I have to partner with you, might as well take advantage."

"Hey, I'm not that bad," Eric said. She stared at him for several minutes, as if debating on how to respond.

"You never do anything without making sure that you'll get something out of it," she said after some thought, "I don't know what you're trying to get by being nice to me, but whatever it is, you're not going to get it."

Eric paused before responding, the unflattering truth behind her words leaving him momentarily speechless. How much attention had she really paid to him at Erudite?

"Maybe you're wrong about me," Eric finally responded. Isabel shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said, though her tone was less than matter-of-fact.

"I'll just have to change your mind then," he said, catching on to her hesitation, "Do you want see something else or not?" Isabel nodded.

"Okay, I'll show you a pretty basic defensive move, but it can be very useful," Eric said as he got into position in front of her.

"I'm going to throw my arm out in a punch and you're going to deflect it using the opposite hand. You won't be absorbing the punch, so it won't do as much damage to your hands, and if you do it right you'll leave your opponent unbalanced, which will give you more time and space to move against them," he explained. Isabel nodded as he slowly demonstrated what he was talking about and they began to practice, taking turns on offense and defense.

By the time Amar called that it was time for lunch, Eric had taught Isabel several more new moves which had helped him refine and perfect them. She wasn't nearly as strong as he was, but she was fast and he began to see that could be just as useful in a fight if you were able to truly take advantage.

"I was thinking..." Eric said to Isabel, falling in step next to her as they walked to the dining hall, "I think you and I should hold extra practice sessions, outside of training." He stared straight ahead as he spoke, but finally chanced a glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What? Just you and me?" Isabel asked. Eric nodded. She paused, as if considering the suggestion, before slowly shaking her head.

"I... don't think so," she said, picking up her pace to catch up to Lana, who was several yards ahead of them. Eric watched her go, not feeling slighted at all. She'd come around; he'd just have to be patient.

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_**AN - Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought! **_


	3. Fitting in

Isabel stared at herself in the mirror, turning sideways to get the full effect of the outfit she had tried on that she knew she must have. A black tank, showing just the right amount of cleavage, a black mini-skirt that could only be described as skin-tight, and black tights tucked into black boots. Her mother would have a field day if she could see her now, and the thought made Isabel's grin even wider.

"Are you ready?" she head Lana call from the room next to hers. After dinner, Lana had suggested exploring the Pit - the area of Dauntless Headquarters that was used as a common room for members and also where all of the shops and activities offered at the compound were located. With no other options than going back to the dorm and going to bed, Isabel had readily accepted, and so found herself standing in a dressing room of one of the clothing shops attempting to add a few outfits to her incredibly limited wardrobe.

"Yup," Isabel responded.

"Okay, come out on 3?" Lana called back. Isabel laughed at the nerves in Lana's voice, but understood where it came from. She knew Amity to be even more stifling than Erudite, though not quite as bad as Abnegation.

"Sure. 1... 2... 3," Isabel counted down, and stepped out of the dressing room at the same time as Lana. They both stared at each other with wide eyes, before both of their faces, almost simultaneously, burst into grins. Lana's outfit was slightly tamer than Isabel's, consisting of a black tank under a leather jacket, skin tight black pants, and boots, but Isabel knew it was completely different than what she was used to wearing.

"God, you look hot," Lana said, a slight note of envy in her voice as she turned back to look at herself in the mirror, "I wish I was taller." Isabel shook her head, moving to stand beside Lana to look at herself in the mirror.

"Whatever, you know you're gorgeous," Isabel replied, grinning. Lana shook her head.

"Adorable, yes," she said, patting her short blond hair cut in a bob as she leaned in closer to the mirror to look more closely at her face, "But I'm too short to ever be sexy."

"We need makeup," Isabel said, partly to change the subject and partly because Lana's examination of her face had caused Isabel to do the same to her own, "I feel like it's a full makeover kind of day." Lana nodded eagerly.

"I kind of want to wear this outfit out of here," Isabel said, and Lana grinned.

"Me, too," she said. They both gathered up the clothes they had been wearing and helped the other tear the tags off their new clothes to bring to the register. Each member of every faction received a certain number of points allotted to them each month to spend as they would like, in exchange for providing services to their factions. Initiates weren't given much, but considering they were provided with food, housing, and clothing, not to mention the limited free time they had, they didn't need much. A couple of extra outfits, some toiletries, and a few activities a month would be easily affordable.

After their points had been deducted from their accounts and their old clothes put into bags, Lana and Isabel left the store in search of one that carried makeup. They walked slowly down the corridor, stopping every now and then to check out the different kinds of shops and activities Dauntless provided. They saw a few more clothing shops, a small grocery, a jewelry store, several bars, and a large rec center housing different games for people to play.

The shop that really drew their attention was the tattoo parlor. Lana stopped in front of it, staring through the large windows surrounded in pink neon strip lights. Her lips parted slightly, a dreamy expression on her face.

"You alright there?" Isabel asked. Lana nodded, but didn't take her gaze away from the window. Through it, Isabel could see the walls covered in different images, ranging from beautiful to grotesque. Some were simple, others incredibly intricate.

"I miss the art," she said quietly and Isabel suddenly nodded in dawning comprehension. Amity valued art - it was the only faction that truly appreciated it. Erudite and Abnegation both saw it as wastes of time - time better spent in other ways. Candor generally didn't like anything that didn't come with a right or wrong explanation. But Dauntless clearly saw art in a way Amity did not.

"Can you draw?" Isabel asked. Lana shrugged sheepishly, before nodding.

"This is what I want to do," she said, "After initiation. I want to be a tattoo artist." Isabel raised her eyes in surprise.

"Then we should get tattoos tonight," she said, the thought already relaxing her. There wasn't a single Dauntless that she had seen that didn't have at least one tattoo. It was a part of the culture here. A culture Isabel desperately wanted to fit in with, as soon as possible. The way Lana's eyes lit up at Isabel's suggestion let her know she'd said the right thing.

"But first... makeup," Isabel said grinning, dragging Lana away from the window by the arm, "We gotta be all made up before. It'll be like our final part of the makeover." Lana reluctantly agreed and they left the tattoo parlor, wandering a few stores further down the corridor until they finally came to a shop that sold toiletries and makeup.

They each picked out a foundation, powder, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara before making their way to the register and deducting their points for the products. When they left the shop, they stopped in at a restroom they had passed, taking their new items out of the bags and beginning to apply.

"So I never got a chance to ask you," Lana said, leaning close to the mirror as she rubbed foundation over her face, "What was it like partnering with Eric?" Isabel paused in her own attempt to apply foundation, thinking over the question.

"Not as bad I thought it was going to be," she said.

"Why did you think it would be bad?" Lana asked. Isabel finished with the foundation, applying the cap to the bottle before taking her powder out of her bag.

"I knew Eric in Erudite," Isabel reminded her, "Or at least... knew who he was. I doubt anyone really knew him. He was just always so... cocky, like he was too good for everyone. And rude."

"And hot," Lana added giggling. Isabel grinned, shaking her head.

"Oh God please never let him hear you say that," she said, "It'll just go to his already inflated ego."

"I won't," Lana said, "But you gotta admit..." Isabel shrugged, her grin fading as she began applying her eyeliner.

"Yeah, sure, he's good looking," Isabel said, "But that can't make up for being a jackass." She applied her eyeliner, thinking about her last statement.

Transferring to a new faction, for her, had meant coming with a clean slate, a chance to start over and be anyone she wanted to be. She'd hate to be judged for things that happened in her past life at Erudite. Shouldn't she give the same consideration to Eric? Not to mention that if it weren't for him helping her get on the train, she'd be factionless right now.

"He did ask me if I wanted to do some extra training with him," Isabel finally said, glancing over at Lana through the mirror. Lana paused, brush to her cheek, as she stared at Isabel.

"You're going to do it, right? He's amazing at hand to hand, and you're going to have to finish close to the top if you want to be a nurse," Lana said, then added, "Tattoo artist... not so much." Isabel looked at her thoughtfully. She hadn't thought of that. Maybe she'd been too hasty in her denial of Eric's offer.

"True," she said, mulling it over in her mind as Lana finished with her powder. They worked in silence for several minutes before Isabel couldn't stand that being the last thing to be said and changed the subject back to more trivial, and fun, matters.

"You are going to look so different with black eyeliner," she commented, glancing over at Lana as she carefully outlined her eyes in the heavy black. Lana grinned, stepping away from the mirror to get a good look at herself.

"Not bad," she said, grinning as she did the other eye.

"And you were saying something about being too short to be sexy?" Isabel asked, smiling at her through the mirror, "I think you're going to have to retract that statement." Lana laughed, a blush creeping through her fair skin, but she was smiling.

After Isabel had finished, she too took a step back from the mirror, pleased with her appearance. She certainly looked different, and wondered amusedly if anyone from Erudite would even recognize her now. Her lashes were now long and full, her brown eyes accentuated by the eyeliner. Her olive skin was smooth and even.

"Okay, are you ready for your tattoo?" Isabel asked.

"More than ever," Lana replied, and giggling, the girls headed back to the tattoo parlor.

"Do you know what you want to get?" Isabel asked as they walked through the doors and into the shop. She gazed at the drawings plastered all over the wall feeling a bit overwhelmed. Lana nodded, walking up to the front desk and asking for paper and a pencil. She took it over to a table in the center of the room and began to sketch something while Isabel thumbed through some books in search of inspiration. This was going to be applied to her body permanently and she didn't want to settle.

"I was thinking something like this," Lana said, holding up her drawing. It showed a circle made out of small, interchanging leaves encompassing a tree with flames dancing around the bottom. Isabel raised her eyebrows as she looked at the sketch, impressed with Lana's talent. She wasn't kidding - she could draw.

"To symbolize my transition from Amity to Dauntless," Lana explained, looking nervously at Isabel as she waited for her reaction.

"That's amazing," Isabel said, and Lana beamed, "Where do you want it?"

"My shoulder blade," she said, reaching back with her left hand to tap the spot.

"Do you think you could draw something for me?" Isabel asked. Lana nodded eagerly, grabbing a fresh piece of paper and looking at Isabel expectantly, pencil poised.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"In Erudite, I used to read these ancient stories that were supposed to be from this place called Greece," she began, rambling slightly as she tried to collect her thoughts, "We're taught that such a place never existed, but I think they're wrong. I think it did exist and that the most clever, creative people of the age lived there together studying the world and the people and coming up with stories to explain things they couldn't explain."

"Okay..." Lana said slowly, "I don't know how to draw that..." Isabel laughed, shaking her head.

"No, no... I used to read stories by this guy Herodotus and he wrote about this creature called a Pheonix. A magical beautiful bird, with red and gold feathers that would live for hundreds of years. When it died, it would burst into flames and from the ashes, a new Phoenix would emerge. It was supposed to symbolize rebirth but to me, it's the perfect symbol of me transferring to Dauntless - creating a new life, becoming a new person. That's what I want."

Lana smiled at her, nodding as she began her sketch. Isabel looked over her shoulder, helping to describe the vision of the Phoenix she had in her head and when Lana was finished, it was perfect.

"Where are you going to get yours?" she asked. Isabel hesitated for only a moment before running her hand up the side of her torso. Lana nodded as they brought their sketches to the woman at the desk, who Isabel recognized as Tori, the Dauntless Amar had called to in the dining hall when Four got his new name.

"You make a decision?" Tori asked, looking at the girls with neither a smile nor a frown. Lana nodded, passing the sketches over to Tori who stared at them for a second.

"You drew these?" she asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice as she continued to look at the drawings. Lana nodded shyly, then realized Tori wasn't looking at her.

"Yes," she said. Tori finally looked up at Lana from the sketches, her blank expression replaced with respect.

"You're a new transfer, right?" she asked. Lana nodded.

"From Amity," she said.

"Yeah, I figured," Tori responded, looking thoughtfully across at Lana, "We don't get many transfers with your kind of talent. Hell, we don't have many Dauntless with your kind of talent." Lana beamed at her, pride filling her eyes.

"I want to work here," she blurted out, "You know, after initiation." Tori nodded, smiling at her.

"We'll see what we can do," she said, "But drawing with a needle is a little different than drawing with a pencil."

"I can learn," Lana said quickly and Tori appraised her for several moments before nodding.

"I could use someone in here a couple evenings a week," she said, "To help people draw out designs. Maybe you could come in, I could teach you how to work the needle." Lana nodded eagerly.

"I'd love to," she said quickly. Tori smiled at her, nodding.

"Good," she said, "Rob's finishing up with someone in the back. You two will be next in line. Just show him your drawing when you go in." Isabel and Lana nodded before turning to walk around the shop, looking at all the drawings while waiting for their turn.

The door to the back room opened and two people walked out, one who was covered in tattoos in every visible spot, the other more familiar face had a single new tattoo - a maze pattern running up his left forearm.

"Make sure to apply that cream in about an hour. It'll heal it instantly and ensure it doesn't fade," the one covered in tattoos, who Isabel assumed was Rob, said to Eric.

Isabel stared at him, shocked to run into him so soon after her conversation with Lana about him. Eric nodded, taking the small packet Rob handed to him, and turned to see Isabel and Lana standing there. He stood stunned for a moment, staring at Isabel, who couldn't understand why he was looking at her as if he'd never seen her before until she remembered her new outfit and the makeup. She stood a little taller as Eric grinned at her appreciatively.

"Well well well," he said, "Here to get your first tattoo?"

"I see you're already ahead of me," Isabel responded.

"As usual," he responded, his grin widening when Isabel rolled her eyes. Lana nudged Isabel, flicking her eyes back and forth between Isabel and Eric when she had turned to look her.

"What?" Isabel hissed. Lana sighed, glancing over at Eric who was looking at them in amusement.

"Ask him about the training," Lana whispered between clenched teeth and Isabel grimaced, but knew Lana was right. She could use all the extra help she could get if she wanted to get into the nursing program after initiation. She turned back to look at Eric, who she was pretty sure had heard Lana and looked more smug than she'd ever seen him. She visualized slapping the grin off his face and dreaded her next words.

"Would you... um..." she began, sighing at her lack of eloquence, "Is your offer still on the table?" Eric looked sarcastically confused as he furrowed his brows together, cocking his head slightly to one side.

"Which offer would that be?" he asked. Isabel rolled her eyes, sighing again.

"The training. After practice," she said. Eric looked at her for several moments without responding, causing Isabel to become more than mildly exasperated.

"Do you want to work with me or not?" she finally asked. He grinned at her in a victorious way she did not like, and nodded.

"Sure," he said, "Tomorrow. After dinner. Meet me in the training room." Isabel nodded, watching him as he walked away and wondering if that decision had been very smart.

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_**AN: Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you are enjoying the story. Please let me know either way! I love feedback of any kind - it's incredibly helpful and motivating :)**_


	4. Personal training

_**AN - Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been so long since my last update - I hope you enjoy this latest installment :) **_

* * *

Isabel grunted as once again she was thrown flat on her back in the boxing ring. Eric stood over her, watching as she slammed her fist angrily on the floor next to her before getting up again. She was dripping in sweat, looking angrily at him.

"You're still letting me in," he said, "You've got to anticipate." Their extra practice session had turned into personal training for Isabel, but Eric didn't mind. It was still allowing him to get practice in on another human being, and it wasn't as if she'd be a threat to his standings. He also couldn't deny that he liked the opportunity to spend private time with her, touching her, and trying to figure out where that damn tattoo was.

Isabel bounced from foot to foot, trying to shake off the aches all over her body.

"I'm trying," she grumbled. Eric knew she was getting frustrated, and he could understand why. He had skill, strength, and experience on his side. She was brand new to this and much smaller than he was. She kept trying to come at him with force, as if it was possible for her to beat him that way.

"Okay, let's take another tactic," Eric said, "I'm bigger and stronger than you, that's just a fact. You're not going to beat me by strength alone. So how are you going to do it?" Isabel narrowed her eyes in thought, mentally reviewing the night's previous fights.

"I'm faster than you," she said, "And smarter," she added, grinning. Eric's lips tilted up in a flirty half grin as he took a step closer to her, cocking his head slightly to one side.

"Yeah, you think so?" he asked, his voice deliberately softer. He expected her to roll her eyes at his attempt at charm, but surprisingly, she smiled back.

"Oh, I know so," she said.

"Well I'll give it to you that you did do a lot of training in the infirmary at Erudite," he said, and a prideful, victorious expression crossed her face, which disappeared almost the second he began speaking again," So I know you've got a pretty good grasp on the human anatomy." He cocked an eyebrow as he watched her lips part slightly and her eyes narrow.

"Actually, I do," she said, her eyes brightening slightly, "For example, I know exactly where I'd have to kick you to shut your kidneys down." Eric hadn't been expecting that. He snorted in laughter.

"Well, that would definitely come in handy," he said, "Maybe you've actually got a thing or two you can teach me." Isabel looked surprised at the flattery.

"Were they serving humble pie for dinner? Because I just thought it was pizza," she said. Eric shrugged, taking a step back.

"Hey, I can admit when someone's got something I don't," he said, "Besides... I really do want you to show me where to kick someone to shut down their kidneys."

"I feel like by telling you that, that would make me an accessory to some violent crimes," Isabel said in mock seriousness, "I don't want to have people's lives on my conscience." Eric smirked, nodding.

"Oh, I'll get it out of you," he said and she grinned, shaking her head.

"I have no doubt that you will try," she said. Eric paused as he gazed across at her, wondering when she had changed from just another challenge he'd given himself to something he genuinely wanted. Standing there across from him, sweating from her hair to her knees, she was still the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She was funny. She had a mean right hook. And she was definitely flirting with him.

He cleared his throat, shaking his head as he took a step back from her. He didn't want to push his luck too soon and scare her off from ever training with him again, even if he was just joking about the kidneys. Mostly.

"Alright... back to business," he said, "Your strengths."

"Ah yes - my brains and my speed," she said, grinning and he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Speed, yes," he agreed, "That's going to be your upper hand with me, Four, and the Candor guys."

"Liam and Gabe," Isabel said. Eric nodded, continuing to run through the rest of the initiates she'd undoubtedly have to fight at least once over the next two weeks.

"Lana you could take with your hands tied behind your back," he said, noticing her wince at his words. He shook his head, "Look, in this ring, there are no friends. She'll understand that and if not... you've got to look out for yourself. Don't expect me to go easy on you either."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Isabel muttered. Eric wasn't sure if he'd just pissed her off, but they were words she needed to hear.

"The Candor girl, April... she's another story. I caught some of her practice today and she was pretty evenly matched with Gabe. She's strong, quick, and knows when to go for the kill. You're going to have to watch her, see where her weaknesses are, what her tells are." Eric looked at her, his lips thinly pressed together. Isabel sighed, nodding.

"Okay," she replied unenthusiastically, but determined. Eric checked his watch.

"Let's take a break, then we can work on some technique with the punching bags," he suggested.

"You're the boss," she replied, obviously relieved at the idea of the break. They walked across the room to the water fountains and Eric got a quick drink as Isabel lapped up the water as if her life depended on it.

Eric leaned against the wall watching her, his eyes roaming her body as she leaned over the fountain, once again hoping to get a hint as to where her new tattoo was. It had been driving him crazy all day. He'd expected her to come in with a tattoo clearly visible in the tank top and shorts she had worn to practice, but it wasn't. Which lead his mind to the minimal areas of her body covered by clothing. Which lead his mind to how she looked not covered in clothing. And where was that damn tattoo?

"What?" she asked, standing up straight and wiping the dripping water from her face, obviously catching him staring at her. He wasn't even remotely ashamed.

"Where's your tattoo?" he asked, hoping the unexpectedness of the question would get her to spill. A slow, surprised smile spread across Isabel's face.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said. He cocked an eyebrow, his eyes roving over her body before meeting her eyes again. Yes, he really would like to know.

"You have no idea," he said, his voice coming out deep and gravelly. His lips twerked in amusement as a slow blush spread across her cheeks and she ducked her head.

"Guess you'll just have to wonder," she said. Eric smirked, gazing at her. Had she really just asked him to wonder about her naked?

"That'll be fun," he replied, and her eyes grew wide, her grin immediately dropping as she clearly realized what she had just said.

"That's not... I mean... is it time for punching bags yet?" she asked, stumbling over her words as she walked towards the bags without waiting for an answer.

Eric stood still for a moment, watching her walk away from him and incredibly surprised at the turn of events of their training session. He found himself actually enjoying her company, and that was something he couldn't say about... well, anyone else. He definitely wanted her.

Isabel showered quickly after her training with Eric, trying to keep her mind off of him but it kept wandering back. Her hand grazed over the tattoo running up the side of her body and she smiled at the recollection of how crazy it drove him. She made a mental note to be careful of changing in front of him. Privacy was not something easily afforded in the initiate dorm; she was grateful he had allowed her to shower alone. It showed a sign of respect for her that she hadn't been expecting.

She changed quickly into the shorts and tank she wore to bed, towel drying her hair as much as possible as she made her way quietly to her bed. Most of the other initiates were already asleep, but she wasn't surprised to see Lana, who had the bed next to hers, wide awake and sitting up, waiting for her.

"How'd it go?" Lana whispered, immediately hopping onto Isabel's bed when she saw her walk up. Isabel flicked her eyes over to Eric, who was walking into the bathroom to take his shower, before looking back at Lana.

"Surprisingly well," she said evasively, unsure of exactly how much she wanted to share. Part of her was bursting to talk her feelings out with someone, but another part knew that Eric was dangerous, and talking about her feelings - putting them out into the universe - would somehow make it real.

"Oh come on, you've gotta give me more than that," Lana said. Isabel hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought over the past couple of hours.

The training had gone much better than expected, though that wasn't saying much. Her expectations had been extremely low going in. She'd expected Eric to parade his "badassery" around like a peacock spreading its feathers, just waiting to be admired. But he'd actually tried to help her.

And he'd been flirty. Definitely flirty. The way he looked at her, the things he'd said... she didn't know how to take it. But she'd definitely flirted back, and that was the shocking thing. And then there were the butterflies that had spontaneously begun appearing at some point during the training every time he gave her that damn lopsided grin. What the hell?

"So... no? I get nothing?" Lana finally asked, breaking through Isabel's thoughts. Isabel shrugged.

"Nothing special to report," she lied. Lana rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you don't have to be Candor to see you're full of crap," she said and Isabel laughed, shaking her head.

"I don't know, Lana, he helped me train," Isabel said. Lana's face fell.

"Well that's very uninteresting," she said. Isabel grinned.

"Sorry I couldn't entertain you," she responded, hoping that would be the end of the discussion. She was mistaken.

"Okay, but are you going to train with him again? I mean, it doesn't seem like you hate him," Lana said, urging her on. Isabel's eyes flicked once again to the bathroom, and then did a once-over the room to make sure everyone was still sleeping.

"I never hated him," Isabel corrected, "He just... wasn't my favorite person."

"Your least favorite person, if I remember correctly," Lana said.

"Okay okay. I didn't like him," Isabel agreed.

"'Didn't' sounds past tense," Lana said, the grin back on her face.

"You're impossible," Isabel said and Lana shrugged. Isabel sighed, glancing around the room again, "Okay... maybe he's growing on me." Lana continued looking at Isabel expectantly, as if she expected her to explain. Isabel sighed, leaning in closer to Lana and lowering her voice to a whisper, "There was some... flirting happening." Lana's grin grew wider.

"See this is exactly what I needed," she said happily and Isabel rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"It was weird," she said, trying to put her thoughts into order, "I mean... I don't know. Part of me feels like he's playing some game. Like he's got some purpose for acting the way he does."

"Wow... you're really not a benefit-of-the-doubt kind of person are you?" Lana asked.

"Is anyone here?" Isabel replied, and Lana shrugged.

"True... okay so maybe he is playing some game. But maybe he's not. Maybe he just likes you. Would that be so crazy?" Lana asked, "There are plenty of other people around he could have asked to do extra training with that would have been better sparring partners. Hell, he probably could have just trained by himself and been fine. But he asked you."

"Which lends itself to my game playing theory," Isabel pointed out. Lana shook her head.

"Nope. Definitely lends itself to my 'he just likes you' theory," she responded and Isabel sighed. Part of her didn't want that to be true. Her life would be much less complicated without boys thrown into the mix. Especially a boy like Eric. Initiation into Dauntless was complicated enough.

"I don't know, Lana. It's a little early to be reading too much into things. But to answer your question - yeah, I think we will be training together again," she said. Lana yawned, moving back to her bed.

"Good," she replied, lying down.

Isabel glanced up as Eric walked out of the shower, a towel wrapped carelessly around his waist. She admired the sculpted body he worked so hard for, subconsciously biting her lip as her eyes looked him up and down. He caught her eye and paused as if contemplating walking over to her, but decided against it and instead turned and walked towards his bunk.

Isabel sighed, lying down and staring at the ceiling, unsure if she would be able to sleep that night with the chaos in her head. Maybe it could be a good thing... or maybe it could very bad. Or maybe there wasn't even 'a thing.' It had been one training session. Maybe he was flirty like that with all girls. She was surprised by how saddened she was by the thought. Had a couple of days with him really changed her mind about him that much?


End file.
